The anti-dumping duties on 124 steel products are likely to continue because of strong signs of dumping, a top official today said. Asked if one should look forward to imposition of long-term anti dumping duty on the 124 steel products, Steel Secretary Aruna Sharma said, “Yes.. It is going ahead based on evidences.”

She was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here. “That (anti-dumping) is quasi judicial (process) and they will be long-term. There is a strong evidence on that. That is a quasi-judicial process. And all these 124 have enough evidences,” the secretary said.

The government has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on the 124 grades of steel. The secretary further said this year, steel exports were up by 54 per cent and imports were down by 37 per cent post imposition of such protectionist measures.

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Earlier in the month, the government had extended by two months the anti-dumping duty on certain cold-rolled flat steel products from four nations, including China and South Korea, to safeguard the domestic industry from cheap imports.

The duty was earlier imposed on August 17, 2016, for six months on cold-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel from China, Japan, South Korea and Ukraine.

Moody’s Investors Service had earlier said the extension of anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled and cold-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel is credit positive for Indian steelmakers as it will continue to protect them from flooding of imports from other Asian nations.

Of the 173 grades of steel covered under the initial implementation of MIP in February last year, the government has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on 124 grades.